Chris Broadhurst, who took over as UK general manager at the Japanese manufacturer’s Graphic Systems division two years ago, has been promoted to a European role following the success of the Platesense productivity-boosting plate management service he launched in the UK last year. 

Broadhurst has become head of offset for Fujifilm’s European business, based in Dusseldorf, with a remit to expand the business model across the territory. He said he was “excited about this new challenge”.

As a result, former national sales manager Andy Kent has stepped up to the UK general manager role.

Kent has worked at Fujifilm for more than 20 years, and prior to that worked at the then-fledgling Indigo business at the time of its original launch. He began his industry career at Crosfield Electronics more than 30 years ago. 

Kent said he was delighted to be taking on the new role, and looked forward to working with customers to drive the business forward: “Fujifilm is a forward-thinking company, at the forefront of technology developments in both the offset and inkjet sectors of our industry. New developments in our Acuity, Onset X and Jet Press ranges have all been made recently and there is still more to come.”

New product announcements for Fujifilm’s Superia plate range are in the pipeline for later this year, he added.

Kent’s appointment has also resulted in a re-jig of sales management. UK sales will be jointly helmed by Alice Murray, who leads the inkjet team, and Will Hearn who heads the offset business.